أَفَحَسِبَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا أَن يَتَّخِذُوا عِبَادِي مِن دُونِي أَوْلِيَاءَ ۚ إِنَّا أَعْتَدْنَا جَهَنَّمَ لِلْكَافِرِينَ نُزُلًا (102)
(18:102) What, *74 do these people, who have disbelieved, presume that they would make My servants their helpers beside Me *75 ? We have prepared Hell for the hospitality of such people.
*74) This is the conclusion of the whole Surah and is not connected with the story of Zul-Qarnain only but with the subject-matter of this Surah as a whole. That theme was enunciated at the beginning of the Surah (1-8): The Holy Prophet invited his people (1) to give up shirk and adopt the doctrine of Tauhid instead, (2) to give up the worship of the world and to believe in the life of the Hereafter. But the chiefs of his people, who were puffed up with their wealth and grandeur, not only rejected his invitation but also persecuted and insulted those righteous people who had accepted his invitation. The discourse deals with the Same themes and utilizes in an excellent manner the. three stories which were related in answer to the questions put by the opponents of Islam as a test of his Prophethood.
*75) That is, "Do they still stick to their presumption even after hearing all this, and believe that their attitude will be profitable for them?"